The Benefits of Commercial Water Harvesting Systems for Cooling Tower Makeup

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The Benefits of Commercial Water Harvesting Systems for Cooling Tower Makeup

How Do Cooling Towers Work?

Commercial and institutional buildings are often cooled by evaporative cooling towers, which represent a significant volume of potable water consumption, upwards of 5, 10, and even 30+ million gallons a year. The water lost to evaporation and blow down or “drift”, can be replaced with treated rainwater, stormwater, greywater, and cooling condensate from Air Handling Units (AHUs), and municipal water consumption and related costs can be dramatically reduced. Available source water undergoes multi-stage sterilization and filtration to ensure suitability for cooling tower use.

System Components

Collection: The heart of the system lies in the collection methodology, which gathers rainwater from rooftops, stormwater from ground level surfaces, greywater from showers, laundry, and lav sinks, or condensate runoff from AHUs.

Pre-Filtration: Collected water is directed to a pre-filtration system that removes coarse debris, leaves, twigs, sediment, hydrocarbons, etc, which prevents and safeguards downstream components from potential particulate buildup and damage.

Storage Cisterns: Following pre-filtration, water enters a cistern or storage tank, and is securely held until eventually conveyed to the cooling tower system. These tanks are designed to maintain water quality and minimize the risk of contamination. They utilize recirculation systems, and ongoing sterilization, as well as level sensors to monitor water levels and automated controls for system optimization.

Filtration and Sterilization: Before harvested enters the cooling tower system, it undergoes a series of advanced filtration and sterilization processes to eliminate contaminants, suspended solids, bacteria and pathogens, and any potential minerals or chemicals, ensuring local water quality standards are met.

Distribution System: Once treated, water is conveyed from the storage tanks to the cooling tower’s makeup water line, through a dedicated distribution network. Advanced metering and flow control devices manage water supply and consumption efficiently.

Benefits of Water Harvesting for Cooling Tower Makeup

Water Conservation: The most apparent advantage of these systems is the significant reduction in potable water consumption. By utilizing rainwater harvesting, stormwater harvesting, greywater harvesting, and other water categories, building owners and developers can significantly reduce their reliance on municipal water supply, and lower water and sewer costs, while easing strain on local water sources.

Cost Savings: Commercial water harvesting systems offer long-term cost savings by reducing water bills and operational expenses associated with potable water consumption, water treatment and discharge and disposal.

Environmental Impact: The reduced demand for freshwater helps to lower a building’s carbon footprint and overall environmental impact, making these systems a critical means for owners and users to meet ESG and Sustainability goals.

Regulatory Compliance: And finally, implementing sustainable water management practices with the aid of water harvesting systems can help end users comply with increasingly stringent environmental regulations.

Wahaso offers state-of-the-art commercial rainwater and greywater harvesting systems. Contact us for a Free Estimate.